Since 1923 • For a greater Loyola

The Maroon

Since 1923 • For a greater Loyola

The Maroon

Since 1923 • For a greater Loyola

The Maroon

IN MY OPINION: Neo-colonialism fuels the American way

John+Valdespino
The Maroon
John Valdespino

“The American way of life is a blessed one,” said George Bush during his presidency. Instead of giving into pressures to make America conserve energy and cut back on consumerism, he fought for us to be able to continue our current way of life.

However, as other developing countries improve their quality of life, we strain resources to the point where decisions have to be made on who gets what resources. This is the challenge we face.

We have to be brutally honest about what it means to be American and admit we need to go to war to secure more resources.

We don’t have to be shy about our demands. We consume a fourth of the world’s resources with a population of,311 million people according to the U.S. Census Bureau. China and India each outnumber our population by at least three to one. We cannot afford to play nice in the worldwide arena anymore.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is involved in Libya is for blindingly obvious reasons. We need their oil production, and so does France and Britain. It’s a shame that we have to try to disguise our reasons as “humanitarian.”

It’s an insult; we don’t want to help any part of Africa. No one does. Humanitarian values will not feed you or power your car. The United Nations has realized this, so it’s about time everyone else does as well.

The U.S. doesn’t care about any foreign entity unless it has the potential to supply resources.

We destroyed Guatemala for cheaper bananas and Loyola is proud to serve the same Chiquita bananas in the Orleans Room that encouraged CIA involvement in Guatemala. We set up the Shah of Iran in the 1950s, and when the shah fell out of power, we turned to Hussein. When Kuwait became a prospect, we turned our backs on Hussein and finally finished the job under the second Bush administration.

Libya is just another chapter of America securing resources.

Our American heritage is the genocide of the Indians and land we captured from Mexico. We cannot sustain our current way of life any other way, because in a finite world, someone has to be forced to go without so that the rest of us can live like normal Americans. War is our only option.

Our planet is beginning to be overcrowded by people from developing countries. We don’t have to allow them to develop and it would be the perfect time to stop them before they build up.

If you want to give up the American way of life, which every president has continued since Reagan, then get ready to change. Your cars will get smaller, electricity will become more expensive, and you’ll be forced into public transportation.

However, if you are ready to defend the America you grew up in, then grab a gun and get ready; we’re at war with the world.

John Valdespino is a music industry senior. He can be reached at

[email protected]

In My Opinion is a weekly column

open to any Loyola student. Those

interested in contributing can contact

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